A Goodbye Rewritten
by Mistress Desdemona
Summary: When Tristan left for military school, Rory just watched him leave. But what if she hadn't? My first fanfic, please review!
1. a good-bye rewritten...

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls or any of the characters. If I did, why would I need to write a fan fic about them? (o.k., I can think of a few reasons, but you get my point!)  
  
A/N: If you've watched the show for awhile, you know who Tristan is and you know that he's been sent to military school. You also know that Rory just let him go (that silly girl!). But what if she hadn't? What if she had given him a good-bye worthy of remembrance? Read and find out.  
  
Tristan turned and walked away, about to walk out of Rory's life forever. Rory had a quick internal debate. Her life would be so much simpler with him gone; she could finally concentrate all her attention on Dean. But did she want her life simple? Did she really want an existence without Tristan? O.K., so she probably couldn't stop him from leaving, but there was one thing she could do.  
  
"Tristan, wait!" she called softly.  
  
Tristan turned around slowly. He couldn't handle this. He didn't want to leave. But he didn't really have a choice. His father had already made the decision, and besides, he needed to get away from this place. Away from this girl who was driving him crazy, this girl he couldn't have.  
  
"Rory, what? I gotta go. I've said good-bye."  
  
"Yeah, but I haven't."  
  
Rory had reached him by the time he turned around, dragged him to a spot where no one could see them, and pulled his head toward hers. Her lips met his in what could quite possibly be called the century's most amazing kiss. Tristan was surprised at first, but soon gave in and returned the most passionate kiss he had ever experienced.  
  
"Well," Rory said as she pulled away, breathless and a bit embarrassed, "I guess you have to leave.  
  
Tristan simply shook his head and replied, "Where's my costume?"  
  
Rory was a bit confused. "What?"  
  
"Mary, if you think I'm just gonna walk away after a kiss like that, you're crazy. Besides, don't we have a scene to perform? I can't let Paris down."  
  
Rory laughed at the thought of how Paris must be acting at this moment. She didn't know how the rest of the evening was going to pan out, but she was relieved that Tristan wasn't leaving yet. That feeling of relief scared her a bit, but she brushed it aside as she held out her hand to Tristan and said, "Ready, Romeo?"  
  
He gave her his usual smile as he took her hand and responded, "Always, Juliet." 


	2. the play

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls or any of the characters. If I did, why would I need to write a fan fic about them? (o.k., I can think of a few reasons, but you get my point!) And I don't own any of Romeo & Juliet. That work belongs to a departed genius by the name of William Shakespeare.  
  
A/N: Tristan decided to stay for the play, so we now move on to the play itself.  
  
  
  
They were almost at the end of their act, and Tristan was a wonderful actor. He made it seem more like a serious production than a class project. Rory wrenched herself from her thoughts as Tristan kneeled next to her and gently placed a hand on her stomach to deliver his next lines. "Ah, dear Juliet, why art thou yet so fair?" His next words were spoken in a combination of a chuckle and a choked back sob. "Shall I believe That unsubstantial death is amorous, And that the lean abhorred monster keeps Thee here in the dark to be his paramour?" Rory was surprised at the affection in his voice as he neared the end of his part. But she was more surprised at what he did next. "And, lips, O, you The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss A dateless bargain to engrossing death." As he leaned in to kiss her, he placed two fingers over her lips and brushed his lips across his fingertips. A stage kiss! Rory didn't understand this. He had to know that she wouldn't object to kissing him after what had just happened in the hallway. *Is the thought of kissing me that bad?* Rory thought. *He didn't have a problem with it earlier. Am I just another conquest? I've seen how he acts with them and he's never treated me like that.* Rory was thoroughly confused as Tristan "died" next to her. Friar Lawrence entered and cued her to wake up from her death-like slumber. She ordered the good friar out and just looked at Tristan for a second, feigning tears. He was so handsome that, despite her confusion at his behavior, it was easy to think of him as Romeo. She acted like she was just discovering the cup of poison in his hand and got on with her part. "What's here? A cup closed in my true love's hand? Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end." Rory slapped his arm childishly as she spoke her next line. "O churl, drunk all and left no friendly drop To help me after! I will kiss thy lips. Haply some poison yet doth hang on them, To make me die with a restorative." As she leaned down to kiss him, she saw a flash of dark, floppy hair out of the corner of her eye. Dean. She repeated Tristan's earlier stage kiss with a new idea of why he might have done it. She threw out her next line with an air of surprise. "Thy lips are warm!" *and perfect* she added mentally. The sound of voices in the background cued her to continue. "Yea, noise? Then I'll be brief. O, happy dagger, This is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die." She pretended to stab herself with the fake dagger. As she fell, an arm draped itself across Tristan's chest, but she dare not move, because she was supposed to be dead already, and weren't the star-crossed lovers supposed to die in each other's arms anyways? She blocked out the main reason she didn't move her arm, which was she simply didn't want to. The curtain closed then (director Paris had seen no point in continuing the scene past this part). The applause was tumultuous. Rory and Tristan helped each other up, each one trying not to look in the other's eyes. They joined hands with the rest of the cast for a quick bow, then joined their entire class for a last curtain call. They had to hold hands for this, and Tristan held Rory's hand for a second longer than was necessary. She tried to figure out why she cared, and why she felt so bad when he let it go.  
  
That's all for this chapter. I have the next one sitting here in my notebook; review and I just might post it. 


	3. stand up for your man

Disclaimer: I own no part of Gilmore Girls. *sigh*  
  
A/N: you've probably already read the previous chapters, so without further ado.  
  
When Rory left the stage, she could see her mom, Sookie, and Dean; but she didn't feel like being with them right then. She needed to talk to Tristan. Something in the back of her head told her to think about the fact that she was avoiding her boyfriend to talk to a guy whom she had passionately kissed less than an hour before; but she ignored it. *All I wanna do is say a final good-bye to Tristan* She tried not to think about the earlier kiss, or wonder why she was so upset at the thought of Tristan leaving.  
  
She heard Tristan before she saw him. Or rather, she heard his name. Being spoken by his father in a quiet, yet still unpleasant tone. "Tristan, I no longer have any idea what to do with you! I let you say a quick good-bye, you join the play and miss your flight. Could you be any more irresponsible?" Rory had an idea. Before Tristan could answer, she strode up to them and interrupted the father-son battle. "Excuse me, I hate to interrupt. You must be Mr. DuGrey. I'm Rory Gilmore. Pleased to meet you." Then, without giving the elder DuGrey a chance to shoo her away, she turned to Tristan. "I just wanted to thank you for doing the play tonight. We probably would have failed if you'd skipped out on us. It was the responsible thing to do." She hoped his father caught that part. "I was pleasantly surprised. At your decision as well as your acting. You were great tonight." "So were you," Tristan replied with a smile. He saw what Rory was trying to do, and while it probably wouldn't work, he appreciated the effort. And the fact that it was coming from the girl of his dreams. Just then, Mrs. Jacobs, the teacher who had assigned this whole thing, walked up. "Mr. DuGrey and Miss Gilmore, just the people I wanted to see. I just wanted you both to know that you earned 100 on this project. If it were my policy to give bonus points, I'd give you 110. You both did spectacular jobs. I'm proud of you both." She then turned to Tristan's father, who had been waiting impatiently for Rory and now this teacher to leave (he'd order them off, but he couldn't afford to make a scene with so many people around. "You should be proud of your son, Mr. DuGrey. He's a great student and also has the makings of a decent actor. A bit of a trouble maker," she added with a stern look at Tristan, "but he'll grow out of that." She then excused herself and walked off to tell a nervous Paris her grade. Rory could feel Mr. DuGrey seething and knew that it was time to make an exit. "I should go, too. My mom's waiting on me." She had to force herself to maintain her light tone; to even say her next words. "Good-bye, Tristan. I'll miss you." For the second time that night Rory saw Tristan's perfect lips form something that resembled a real smile. It didn't reach his eyes, though. Those were sadder than she had ever seen them. She didn't have to look at his eyes long, since he hugged her. "I'll miss you, too, Rory," he said. "Mary," he whispered into her ear so his father couldn't hear him. Rory laughed and pulled away. She gave him one last look and walked away. *God, he can't leave now!* *Oh hell, why do I have to leave now?* 


	4. the parents

Disclaimer: I am not Amy Sherman-Palladino, therefore I do not own Gilmore Girls, and you have pretty much no chance of seeing this on your T.V. Sorry.

A/N: This chapter is a conversation between Tristan's parents. Just so you know, Mr. DuGrey is better at business than he is at parenting. He's not a bad person or anything, he's just bad with people whom he's not working with; including family members. Mrs. DuGrey wants to be a good parent, but she has obligations to people who don't understand that she needs to be with her son, and she's never been able to stand up to them(she's the obedient type, a peacemaker). Now that you know what Tristan's parents are like in this story, we can continue…

Mr. DuGrey moved towards his son, but his wife, who had been standing quiet and unnoticed the entire time Rory & Mrs. Jacobs had been speaking, reached out and grabbed her husband's shoulder and talked to him in a quiet, calming tone. "Not now, Philip. Calm down. There are too many people here. It can wait until we're in the car. Besides, I need to speak with you about something." She then looked up at her son. "Tristan, go say good-bye to the rest of your friends. You have fifteen minutes, or else I'll send you to your cousins in Mississippi instead of military school, do you understand me, young man?" Tristan nodded, a bit afraid. His mom may be quiet and subdued around everyone else, but when she told Tristan she was going to do something, she did it. And while he could survive military school, life in southern Mississippi was something else altogether (A/N: to all those from MS who are reading this, don't be offended. I live in southern Alabama, but I didn't want to scare Tristan that much, so I sent him to Miss. instead). He hurried away. "Meet us at the car," his mother called after him. He turned and nodded his understanding.

"I hope military school shapes him up a bit, because there's nothing else I can do," Philip DuGrey said to his wife as they were walking towards the car.

*You could pay a bit of attention to him* Erica DuGrey thought, but she didn't dare say it aloud. It would upset her husband, and besides, it was a bit hypocritical. Between caring for her selfish, possessive mother, keeping Philip's childish temper in check, and attending meetings of the various and assorted high society clubs she was expected to belong to, she barely ever had time for her son.

"Philip, I'm not so sure about this military school idea. If he doesn't like it, he's just going to get himself kicked out. He has a talent for that," she said, thinking of all the donations she had made to keep Tristan in Chilton.

"Well dammit, Erica, what do you suggest? I've scolded him, grounded him, made him quit his teams, nothing seems to work. And he's a bit too old for a spanking."

"Why don't we send him to your sister's house. She never had any problems controlling her boys, and Tristan has never dared lie to her. He always behaves so much better when she's around. Besides, she's home much more than you are, and she's a better disciplinarian than I am." In the DuGrey household, Philip tried to create the punishments and be the strict father figure, but they always worked best when Erica handed them down.

Philip just sighed. "What about the Bowmans? Rick won't be happy…"

"I'll talk to Janet. It's not like her son hasn't caused his fair share of trouble around our place."

"What about those friends of his? If he continues at Chilton…"

"I'll tell Paula that Tristan is not to hang around those boys any longer. I get the feeling he won't object."

"Why's that?"

"He's never been able to disobey your sister. Besides, I don't think he's all that close to those boys. He just wanted someone to hang out with. He'll make new, better friends easily."

"But…"

"No 'buts', Philip," Erica said softly. "You've done things your way, let me try them my way. If this doesn't work, then you can ship him off." She tried not to let the emotion in her voice show. True, she thought military school would hurt Tristan more than it would help him, but that was only half of the reason she didn't want him to go. She may not be very involved in Tristan's life, but that was the way things were. She still didn't want to be shut out of his life, and she had a feeling that that's exactly what would happen were he sent to North Carolina.

Philip sighed in defeat. Erica had been better with Tristan, while Philip's interference seemed to do more harm than good. Truth be told, the only reason he even bothered was he didn't want to see his son spoiled, made soft, by his mother's constant gentle touch. But this time she was right. All this was giving him a headache, and he was glad to turn care of the boy over to his stern sister. In the eyes of society, it would look better than military school. "Where is that boy, anyway?"

Erica looked at her watch and smiled. Philip never told her when she won, they both just knew. "He still has a few minutes." With that, they climbed into the car and waited for their son.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Meanwhile, inside…))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

A/N: Wait, why tell you what happened inside? I can just make that the next chapter. And the next chapter is the last time Rory gets some alone time with Tristan for awhile. After that, she gets swept away by her boyfriend (yes, I did put the evil Dean in here. But only for a bit. And I'd just like to mention that he wasn't nearly as evil in the first season as he was in the second. But anywayz…). I don't know how Dean should take the break-up (angry, sad, not care, get insane and stalk Rory…). So pleeze review with your ideas. The sooner you review, the sooner I can get on with this!


	5. he's finally gone

Disclaimer: If I really did own Gilmore Girls, we wouldn't have been forced to watch as Jess tried to take Tristan's place.

A/N: Sorry it's been so long since my last post, but I'm afraid that you're going to have to get used to that. School starts next week, and I'll probably only be able to post once a week. Sorry!

And by the by, this is still the night of the play. I think next chapter will be the last part of that night. And I'm sorry for spending so much time on one night, but I can't see what's going to happen past the night of the play.

On with the show!!!!!!!!!

Rory caught sight of her mom, Sookie, and Dean. She was heading towards them when she heard that oh-so-familiar voice call, "Mary!" 

She sighed as she turned around. She'd been able to stuff down the pain of Tristan's leaving, and she was trying to ignore all the feelings she had for him and get on with her life (or at least put up a convincing charade until she got home), but it was kind of hard when he kept showing up every time she got a grip on herself.

"I know you want to get home," Tristan said when he caught up to her, "but I just had to thank you for sticking up for me with my dad back there. No one's ever done anything like that for me before. Ya know, if I didn't know better, I'd think that you wanted me to stay."

"Hey, military school, that's harsh. Not even you deserve that." Rory smiled as she spoke, to make sure Tristan know she was joking. She grew serious at her next words. "But it won't be the same without you. I really will miss you." To save herself from embarrassment she added, "Who else am I going to fight with? No one harasses me quite like you."

Tristan's expression became very serious and he looked like he was going to say something important. Rory's breath caught in her chest as she waited. But he just shook his head and said, "I'm the master of harassment. I'm just sorry I'll no longer be able to show off my skills." He then leaned in and whispered, "I'd kiss you good-bye, but I doubt we could top the one in the hall. Besides, your boyfriend's watching." A blushing Rory looked over her shoulder to see a very angry looking Dean walking towards them. When she turned back around to say something, Tristan was gone. 

A/N: Sorry that this is so short, but I just had to put this little part in here. I can't let them say good-bye. I'm either going to put lots more chapters up and continue until they're ready to go off to college, or only post a few more chapters and let the end of the night be the end of this fic. I'm leaning towards the second option. Review and tell me what you think! Pretty please! 


	6. poor dean

A/N: sorry that it took so long to get this up, but I've had writer's block in a major way. I'm not going to carry this story past the night of the play, because my creativity has just given out on me. If anyone wants to take this further, just write your own sequel. But don't fret, after this chapter, I still have one more to go. 

Disclaimer: No, I don't own the characters or the settings, just the plot.

A very angry Dean walked towards Rory. She greeted him with a smile and hoped that he would wait until they got outside to confront her about this. No such luck.

"Ror, what the hell is going on here?"

"What do you mean?" She tried to act as innocent as possible, hoping he wouldn't guess how disappointed she was that he had walked up right then and interrupted a possible last kiss between her and Tristan.

"What I mean is I spend the last fifteen minutes looking for you and I find you here, flirting with the accountant." Rory tried not to flinch when she heard the nickname.

"I wasn't flirting with him." She tried to sound hurt. "He's moving away. I just wanted to say goodbye. There was a lot of anger and stuff between us, and we had to sort that out. He didn't want to leave with me still hating him."

"He's moving?" Dean asked, sounding half shocked, half relieved. 

"Yes, he's moving."

"Well that's good. Are you ready to go home now? Your mom and Sookie are waiting by the car."

"Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go." Rory knew at that instant what she had to do. When she got to the parking lot, she pulled her mom aside. "Mom, do you mind catching a ride home with Sookie and letting me drive Dean home in the Jeep?"

"Sure hon, why?" Normally Lorelai would have made some joke about what they could be doing, but she could tell by the sound of her daughter's voice that she wasn't thinking about anything sexual. 

"I need to talk to Dean about something."

"Something being…"

"I'll tell you when I get home, okay?"

Lorelai had a hunch about what her daughter was going to do, but didn't say anything about it. "Sure babe. Be home by midnight."

"I will be. Thanks." Rory kissed her mom on the cheek and headed off to the Jeep while Lorelai climbed into the passenger side of Sookie's car. They both drove off towards Stars Hollow, with Rory making sure to give Sookie a bit of a head start.

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Rory and Dean were quiet as they headed home. Rory was trying to figure out what to say when they got to Dean's house, and Dean was just happy that Tristan was gone for good. They cracked a few jokes as they drove, but the level of comfort that had been there before was gone. Dean attributed this to the fact that Rory was a bit tired, but Rory knew better.

They pulled into Dean's driveway. He moved to kiss her and get out, but Rory grabbed his arm. "Dean, wait."

He heard a bit of nervousness in her voice, and also a sense of urgency. He knew that whatever she had to say was important, and all of a sudden, he got a little scared. "What is it, Ror?" he asked, trying to sound calm.

Rory took a deep breath. She had rehearsed it in her head so she wouldn't ramble on, but this was still harder than she thought it would be. "Dean, this isn't working out. I mean, it was great in the beginning, but we're growing apart. We're not as close anymore. We…"

"Wait, are you breaking up with me?" he said this with a bit of disbelief.

"Yes Dean, I am." She hadn't wanted to be this harsh, but being sweet and gentle would make it harder for both of them. She had been going through this since before they left the Chilton parking lot, and she was sure that this was the right thing to do. "It's just not working…"

"Is this because of the accountant? Because you said he was moving. But he's not moving is he? You just said that to keep me calm…"

"Dean, this isn't about Tristan. And yes, he really is moving. This is about us."

"Rory, you can't do this to me." He sounded desperate now. "You mean everything to me. I love you, you know that."

"And I love you, too." It was the wrong thing to say; she knew that the instant the words left her mouth. 

"Then why are you breaking up with me? You love me, you know we're right for each other." He grabbed her and pulled her to him in a desperate kiss. 

Rory shoved him off of her, and since his door was open, she ended up shoving him right out of the car. "Dean, it's over!" she practically shouted. She had been ready to cry a moment ago, but now he was just acting pathetic. It was really getting on her nerves. She leaned over to close the passenger door. She didn't see Dean's hand reach up to grab it. As a result, she ended up slamming his hand in the door. She quickly opened it back up when she heard his cry of pain. Rory made sure his hand and all other body parts were out of the way before closing the door again. She looked out his window to make sure she wouldn't run over him when she drove off, but he was no longer on the ground. He was at her window, nursing his swollen hand. 

"Rory, please reconsider." He leaned into her open window. But she'd had enough. She jerked her door open, knocking him to the ground. She didn't do this to hurt him; she just needed him out of the way so she could leave. She sped out of the driveway, leaving Dean to choke on the cloud of dust she left in her wake. Rory could barely hear him call her name one last time as she drove off into the night.

A/N: So, what did you think? Was I too mean to poor little Dean? I probably shouldn't have tortured him that much, but I just couldn't help myself. I don't know when I'll be able to post the next and last chapter. Review please!

~*~*~Mistress Desdemona~*~*~ 


	7. friends in the end

Disclaimer: No, Gilmore Girls was not my back-to-school present.

A/N: The last chapter!! *tear rolls down cheek* Well, it's been great, but since all good things must come to an end, it stands to reason that halfway decent ones like this story must end as well. But remember, Trory forever!!!!!!!!! (okay, I got a bit carried away, so what?)

Rory felt relieved and a bit annoyed, frightened and guilty as she pulled into her own driveway. Dean had acted so pathetic when she broke up with him. She hadn't realized that she had meant so much to him, or that he had such a pathetic, grasping, irrational side. It made her feel bad about the breakup, but not bad enough to get back together with him.

She saw her mom lounging on the couch as she strolled into the house, and stood in the hallway for a while, debating whether or not to go in and tell Lorelai what had happened, or just turn the other way and continue on into her own room. Lorelai didn't say anything, but Rory knew that she heard her come in. With a sigh as her need to talk to someone steered her into the den, she collapsed next to her mom on the couch. 

"Hey sweetie, what's wrong?" Lorelai gave Rory a concerned look.

"Nothing's wrong. I actually feel better than I have in a long time." It was the truth. The relationship with Dean had been heading south, and breaking up with him really was the best thing she could have done.

"Are you implying that there has been a black cloud hanging over your head that I, your wonderful mother, didn't know about?"

"Yes and no. I wouldn't call it a black cloud, more like an anvil."

"An anvil? Whoa, that's bad!"

"Not really. It's an anvil like in the Road Runner cartoons. I could've been the Road Runner and rushed past it, or been Wiley Coyote and have it fall on me. I chose the first option."

"Good analogy. Now, do you want to tell me exactly what this theoretical anvil is, or do I have to drag it out of you?" 

And the story rushed out. How Rory hadn't been more comfortable than happy in her relationship for a while, but she couldn't let go; how she didn't begin to realize that this was not something she should be feeling until the beginning of the Romeo & Juliet rehearsals; how she had been so shocked at how sad she felt at Tristan's leaving; about the kiss that had been totally different than any she had shared with Dean; about finally getting the courage to break up with Dean; and about the breakup itself, which, despite it's patheticness, didn't hurt as much as Rory felt it should've. An hour and three cups of coffee apiece later, Rory's story was finished and Lorelai was left a bit shocked, but not very. She had noticed a change in Rory & Dean's relationship, but she had assumed it was moving toward the good sort of comfortable, not the bad kind (A/N: ya know, the kind where you feel like you've been with the person forever and they're just another part of you vs. the kind where you stay in a relationship just 'cause you don't want to be alone). But she was most surprised at who brought Rory to realize that she needed to break it off. Tristan. The person who Rory couldn't stand was the person who convinced Rory to change her life, whether he knew it or not. Lorelai had always suspected that the torments from 'Evil Tristan' were more flirting than anything else, but Rory's manner had never suggested she liked him back. She mentally slapped herself for missing that, then turned her attention back to Rory. She was looking at her mom as if to get her verdict on the situation. Had she been stupid or had she done the right thing? Lorelai just stroked Rory's hair and pulled her close.

"You did the right thing, babe. It was time to let him go. I'm just glad you were smart enough to see that. Most girls wouldn't realize that. But then again, you've always been smarter than most other girls."

"Thanks Mom." Rory tilted her head up and kissed Lorelai on the cheek. "I think I'm going to go to bed now. It's almost midnight and I've got stuff to do tomorrow."

"Ror, you do realize that it's the weekend?"

"Yeah, but I wanna go out. If I don't, the gossip mill shall turn."

"You're right. Night, hon."

"Night, Mom." Rory walked into her bedroom, changed, and was just about to crawl under the covers when the phone rang. She looked at the clock. Who would be calling at this time of night? She picked up and was more than a bit startled at the sound of the voice on the other end.

"Hello, is Rory there?"

"This is she, whom may I ask is speaking?" She struggled to keep her voice calm, not daring to believe that this was who she thought it was.

"This is Tristan. Sorry to call so late."

"It's not late at all." She tried to sound as if she got 11:50 phone calls all the time. "What's up? Not another good-bye, is it?"

Tristan laughed. "Nope, not good-bye, not good-bye at all."

"Then why are you harassing me so close to midnight?" Rory's voice didn't have the usual edge it got when she was speaking to Tristan; instead, it had the easy tone she used when talking to friends, the one she used to use when talking to Dean.

"I've got something very important to tell you." His voice had a little bit of nervousness mixed in with its usual teasing edge.

"Well then go on and tell me!"

"My parents changed their minds. I'm not going to military school. I'm living with my aunt instead. And I can still go to Chilton."

"You're not leaving?!"

"Nope."

"Then all of that this evening was for nothing?"

"Not for nothing. If it hadn't been for you, I'd be on my way to North Carolina by now. You gave my mom the push she needed to change my dad's mind."

"That's great, Tristan! I'm happy for you." And she really meant it. Her voice had none of the sarcasm she usually used when speaking to him.

"You're really happy?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, possibly because I tried to make your life a living hell last year…"

"You're forgiven."

"I am?"

"You were forgiven the moment I realized you might be going away."

"I've got to threaten to leave more often."

"Sorry, that was a one time only deal."

"Damn." They both laughed.

"Can you think of any other reasons why I shouldn't be happy you're staying?" Rory asked.

"Well, there's tonight."

"What about tonight?" Rory tensed. She was ready to start a friendship (okay, maybe a little more than friendship) with Tristan, and she had begun to think he felt the same way. She would be so embarrassed if he proved her wrong now.

"Oh, don't tell me you forgot the kiss."

"No, I didn't forget it."

"Then are you planning to? Are you going to see me and talk to me every day and just pretend that it never happened? Because I did that with you once, and I don't think that I can do it again."

"I had no intention of pretending it didn't happen." Rory's voice was soft, almost a whisper.

"What about Bag-Boy?"

"We broke up."

"Oh, you did?" Tristan fought to hide his happiness, and didn't quite succeed. Rory smiled at this

"Yes, I did."

"Mind if I ask why?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Yes. You made me realize that there are opportunities that are just going to pass me by if I don't seize them when I get the chance, and being with Dean, I was missing a lot of opportunities." Rory was more sincere than she had ever been with Tristan, but somehow, she didn't think that it would backfire on her. She could hear him take a deep breath, as if shocked by this revelation. But then he spoke, sounding like a sweeter version of the Tristan she was so used to.

"Well, I'm glad I did something to help. But where does that leave us?"

"I don't know," Rory replied honestly. "I would like to try being friends with you Tristan. I know that it backfired last time, but I'm willing to give it a go."

"I'm willing to try again, too. But if we're going to be friends, I've gotta be completely honest with you. I do want more than friendship. Now, if you don't want to give that to me, I'll put my feelings aside and do the friend thing, but if you want something more, too, please tell me now." He held his breath, waiting for her answer.

"Tristan, I do want to go a bit farther than friendship, but I was in a serious relationship with Dean, and I want you to be more than just a rebound guy. So can we wait awhile, and be friends first?"

Tristan released that breath he had been holding. "Sure, Rory, that would be great." Rory could feel him smile through the phone lines.

Just then, both of their clocks beeped, signaling midnight.

"I've gotta go," Tristan said. "One of the conditions of my staying was no telephone after 11:30. The 'rents pushed it back to midnight since we got home so late."

"That's okay. I'll talk to you later. And Tristan?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you get this number, anyway?"

Rory knew that he was doing his trademark smirk. "I have my secrets. Good-night, Miss Gilmore."

"Good-night, Mr. DuGrey." And with that, they both hung up and headed to bed, smiles on their faces.

A/N: Well that's the end. I might write a sequel, but I doubt it. You guys are welcome to, though. Just e-mail me and tell me that you're gonna do it. I hope you liked reading this as much as I liked writing it. I bid you farewell.

~*~*~Mistress Desdemona~*~*~ 


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